Disclaimer : All Harry Potter characters are the property of JKR. But all original characters (Wenny, Carl, Dray, Emma, Shane, Russo, etc.) are the property of FaithInSnape & her friend. lol

Confusion

Written by: 'WennyG' (AKA 'FaithInSnape') & 'Carl'

Chapter Fifty-Two: Murder & Fury

"What are y-," Wenny began when Carl hopped off of the ledge and pulled her down, then she saw what he had seen. "That's the Dark Mark!," she whispered, immediately becoming rather terrified. She looked between Carl and the newly formed Dark Mark. "But...but they only do that when they murder," she said, hoping he would correct her. Who were they planning to murder at Hogwarts? Or had they already done it? Could they be coming after them?

She hadn't thought about it before, but they were basically trapped on the Tower now. If the stairwell became blocked, the only way down would be to jump. Or fall.

Carl nodded his head slowly as he continued to gaze up at the Dark Mark, his breathing shallow. "Those people in the hall were Death Eaters," he said, barely a whisper, confirming what they both had been thinking, but too afraid to say out loud. He finally turned back to Wenny. "We have to do something," he said, taking her hand. He knew they wouldn't be able to stay there, but could only hope they would be able to find a safe way off the Tower.

Wenny nodded slightly. She knew he was right, they needed to go somewhere besides the Tower. It would be much too dangerous to stay there, incase the Death Eaters were coming after them. But she was almost too frightened to move. "What if they already know we're up here?," she asked quietly. What if that was why they had already put the sign in the sky, that they had somehow spotted them and were coming up to the Tower at this very moment?

Carl walked back over to the ledge and looked down. Then he looked back up at the Dark Mark in the sky and then to Wenny, his heart being fast now. "Well, what do you suppose we do?" he asked her before glimpsing something else in the sky. He looked towards it and could have sworn that he was seeing someone on a broom. He narrowed his eyes to see a bit better. "Wenny," he said slowly. "Is that...?" he trailed off. The long silvery hair was oddly familiar, but now he was really beginning to think that his mind wasn't being all too friendly with him that night.

"...Dumbledore?," she finished, noticing what he had. "Have you ever seen Dumbledore fly?," she asked. It was quite an interesting sight. She continued to watch the scene for a few moments before speaking again. "It looks like he's coming up here. Maybe we should just wait for him?," Wenny suggested. After all, Dumbledore was the one person who could protect them. Or at least she believed so.

Carl nodded a bit and then narrowed his eyes even more when he thought he saw another broom flying along next to Dumbledore, but no one was on it. As they came closer, Carl noticed that Dumbledore wasn't looking so good. Although, who could blame him with the Dark Mark hovering above his school? "On second thought, maybe we should just see if we can't try to find out a few things before we bother him with us being out of our dorms," he said quietly.

"Yeah, I guess you're right," Wenny said, looking around for somewhere for them to go. There was an old stone statue over on the other side of the Tower, but still close enough to be able to see Dumbledore when he landed. "Come on," she said, as she pulled Carl over towards the statue. They would be able to hide behind it and see what Dumbledore was doing up on the Tower.

They had just gotten behind the statue when Dumbledore, and what appeared to be an unoccupied broom, landed on the Tower. Wenny gave Carl a curious glance.

Carl looked over at Wenny after watching them land and shrugged. He looked back over to Dumbledore and the seemingly empty broom, and thought he heard a voice that was not Dumbledore's before hearing the Headmaster speak.

"Go and wake Severus," he heard Dumbledore say, although not knowing who it was he was talking to. No need to wake him, Carl thought to himself, remembering hearing Snape and Malfoy talking in the empty classroom. But as he watched Dumbledore, he knew something was wrong with him.

"You swore to obey me, Harry - go!," Dumbledore said. Wenny immediately looked at Carl and mouthed "Harry?" Of course she knew who Dumbledore was speaking to. Harry Potter. But where had they been? And why was Dumbledore acting so strangely? And why couldn't they see Harry? He must've been under an invisibility cloak or something, but...why? And why was Dumbledore asking Harry to bring Professor Snape up here? Rather than Dumbledore going to the professor himself?

Wenny watched intently as Dumbledore held what appeared to be his arm, though it was rather odd looking, to his chest, and then as he seemed to motion to Harry. A moment later, the door to the stairwell swung open. "Expelliarmus!," came the voice from the stairwell and Wenny saw Dumbledore's wand fly out of his hand. She looked over at Carl, terrified. What was going on here?

Carl was afraid to look to see who had come through the door from the stairs, but soon found that he didn't have to. Dumbledore had said it for him. "Good evening, Draco," he heard Dumbledore say. Carl quickly looked over, not able to believe it. But there indeed stood Draco Malfoy, his wand pointed directly at Professor Dumbledore. This definitely wasn't good. Carl watched as they talked and heard Draco tell Dumbledore that he wasn't alone and that there were Death Eaters in the school. They could have used that bit of information a bit earlier, Carl thought.

Then he heard Draco say that the Death Eaters had met some of Dumbledore's guards downstairs. The Order, Carl thought. After a little while of hearing them talk, Carl got the impression that Draco wasn't just there to distract Dumbledore. Infact, now he was learning that Draco had been attempting to kill Dumbledore all year. Carl didn't want to hear this, and he didn't want to think of what would happen next with Dumbledore defendless. He heard a muffled yell from somewhere downstairs in the castle and didn't want to think about what was happening down there.

Wenny watched, wide eyed, as Dumbledore calmly talked to Draco about how the boy had succeeded in getting Death Eaters into the school. The cabinet. The one in the Room of Requirement. Which is why the Room hadn't opened for them earlier. Draco must've been in there, awaiting the arrival of the Death Eaters.

The conversation quickly turned to Professor Snape and Wenny looked over at Carl, not sure how he would react, seeing as Snape was his father. It seemed Dumbledore and Draco were both convinced of where they believed Snape's loyalties lie. But which one was correct? It had to be Dumbledore. He was the most powerful wizard of the age. Surely Snape couldn't have fooled him. And Draco was just a young guy their own age, and surely easy to fool. But what if Dumbledore was wrong?

Carl didn't want to listen to it, any of it. He had already been thinking about all of what they were talking about, and now it was just making things worse. He wanted to be able to think that Dumbledore was in the right because he was the most powerful wizard of the time, but things couldn't be for sure now. It seemed that there was alot more to this than just Wenny and himself now.

Then he heard footsteps thundering up the stairs to the Tower. Carl felt as if his heart had stopped. They could either be members from the Order, and they could get Dumbledore and them out of this mess. Or...they could be Death Eaters who could just help Draco and rid themselves of Professor Dumbledore, a thought he didn't really want at the moment. Then about four people came up behind Draco. They definitely aren't Order, Carl thought. Then what had happened to the Order?

Wenny cringed and reached over for Carl's arm when she saw the four strangers walk through the Tower door. They were rather vicious looking, especially the one with matted gray hair. Dumbledore referred to him as "Fenrir," which at first didn't sound familiar. But after a few moments of hearing the conversation between 'Fenrir' and Dumbledore, Wenny remembered hearing about him. He was a brutal werewolf who had done some unspeakable things.

It wasn't until that moment, being completely terrified of not only the Death Eaters, but of the werewolf as well, that Wenny remembered that she could attempt to apparate herself and Carl off the Tower. But should she? Or should they stay where they were for the time being and hope that none of the people on the Tower discovered them?

Wenny closed her eyes, trying to calm herself enough to think clearly. She was about to try to get Carl's attention to ask him about apparating when something made her quickly turn back towards the scene playing out infront of them. The door had opened once more and one of the Death Eaters had just addressed Professor Snape. She wanted to be glad to see him there, but the fact that they weren't sure which side he was truly on kept her from it. As she turned to look at Carl for his reaction, she heard Dumbledore's quiet voice.

"Severus..."

Carl had been looking back and forth between the Death Eaters and Dumbledore. As soon as he heard the one that Dumbledore had referred to as 'Amycus' speak Snape's name, he turned his head quickly and saw Professor Snape standing there. A breath of relief left him, but then he realized Dumbledore's tone as he said Snape's name. He looked slowly from Professor Dumbledore then back to Snape. Was Dumbledore...pleading? This scared Carl, Dumbledore pleading to Snape.

"Severus...please...", he heard Dumbledore say very quietly. A chill went down Carl's spine. He hated the tone Dumbledore was using. He kept his gaze on Snape and then saw him raise his wand. Carl's heart was racing faster and faster, and he could feel him starting to shake his head. "Avada Kedavra!" Carl's gaze followed the jet of green light that shot from Snape's wand to Dumbledore. He wanted to scream, to yell, to do something, but held it back.

Carl watched as Dumbledore was blasted into the air. He had to look away after that, as he felt his jaw clenching, harder than usual. He thought he could feel blood in his mouth and realized he had been biting down on his tongue, but he didn't really care at the moment. The realization hit him surprisingly quick. Snape had just murdered Dumbledore.

Wenny was too shocked to even close her eyes or turn her head away. She just sort of watched the scene, completely numb from what had just occurred right infront of them. Had Professor Snape really just murdered Dumbledore? She had seen it. It had to have happened. Yet, it didn't seem real. She looked over to Carl, wondering what was going through his mind at the moment. It was difficult enough for Wenny herself to comprehend, but given Carl's biological relation to Professor Snape, it must've been even more devastating for him.

The Death Eaters were still on the Tower, so Wenny knew better than to try to talk to Carl at the moment. She watched as Professor Snape grabbed Draco and led him out of the Tower, followed by the remaining Death Eaters and the werewolf. She had been about to speak to Carl when she heard another voice, "Petrificus Totalus!" She quickly looked over and saw Harry jump over a fallen Death Eater.

Wenny waited a few minutes before turning back to Carl. She didn't even know what to say, so she simply looked at him, completely stunned at what they had just witnessed.

Carl had closed his eyes and had his head bowed down towards the ground. He didn't know what to think or do. After a moment when he thought he was going to be sick and when he saw Harry going down the stairs, he slowly opened his eyes. And the bloody taste inside his mouth wasn't helping either. He cursed and then stood up before looking down at Wenny. "I knew I should've killed him when I had the chance," he said. He didn't think it was exactly the right thing to say, but it's how he felt now.

The image of Dumbledore being thrown backwards into the air was still haunting him. The greatest wizard of the time was dead. But how? Dumbledore would never have let him be in such a sticky situation. But yet they had both witnessed it. Carl wished he could just pretend as if it hadn't happened, it wasn't real, but he knew that wasn't an option. "Come on," he said, reaching out his hand for Wenny's. He didn't know what he was going to do, but he knew he'd have to act quickly if he was going to do anything.

Normally, Wenny would've said something to Carl for his comment about killing Professor Snape. But after what they had just seen, which she was still in awe of, she couldn't blame him. Though, to be fair, if Professor Snape hadn't done it, one of the other Death Eaters surely would have. But who cared about being fair to the man who had just murdered Dumbledore? The worst part of it was that Dumbledore had trusted Professor Snape. Had Dumbledore been wrong to do so? It would appear that way, but when was Dumbledore ever wrong? Especially to this extent?

Wenny nodded slightly as she took Carl's hand. She had no idea where they could go or what they could do, but she was sure she didn't want to stay on the Tower any longer. Dumbledore and Professor Snape had been their last two allies, not counting the other Order members, most of whom they had never even met, and now one of them had been murdered by the other. Wenny felt more vulnerable and more terrified than ever before. Who would they turn to now?

Carl took Wenny's hand and then started back down the stairs, practically running and skipping two steps at a time. He still didn't know what he was going to do, but now he didn't quite care. He would do whatever he had to to stop Snape. After awhile, they were close to the Entrance Hall. With every step, it seemed Carl's anger was increasing.

"Carl, slow down!," Wenny said in a loud whisper. She figured the scene on the Tower would have bothered him, but he was practically dragging her down the stairs and the idea of falling and hurting herself really didn't appeal to her in their current situation. Hopping around on a broken leg would not allow them to escape from Death Eaters if they happened to be caught.

She could see the anger on his face and though she had expected it, it frightened her a bit. She had only seen Carl this angry a few times since they had met and each time had been when he performed an Unforgivable.

Carl could still taste the blood in his mouth, and it seemed to just fuel his anger. He figured his anger was just hiding his confusion. But he didn't want to even try to figure everything out right now. He had seen Snape murder Professor Dumbledore, and that's all he needed to know. With each step, he went a little faster.

"Hurry up, Wenny," he said quickly, ignoring her telling him to slow down. It felt as if that were an impossible thing to do at the moment. Not only was he running faster every second, his mind seemed to be doing the same thing. He just wanted to ignore what was going on in his head and focus on what was happening now.

"Ugh, I'm trying!," Wenny said furiously, a bit annoyed at being pulled down the steps so quickly and at the fact that Carl didn't seem to care if she, or he as well, were injured in the process.

She wanted to ask him where they were going or what he was planning on doing, though she figured she already knew at least some of the ideas running through his mind. She was mentally preparing herself to keep him from murdering Professor Snape. Not because Professor Snape didn't deserve it for what they had just witnessed, but because she didn't want to see Carl thrown into Azkaban. How would she survive without him?

Carl was too caught up in everything to realize Wenny's tone and how annoyed she sounded. The only thing he could think about was Snape. How could he have done that, let that happen? He wasn't who Carl had thought. This man could not be Carl's father. At least, that's what Carl wanted to believe.

He jumped the last four steps on the stairs and came to the corridor. He couldn't see much as it was only dimly lit, but he could make out the outline of Harry. Carl continued to hold onto Wenny's hand and then led her down an opposite corridor that would hopefully lead them around this corridor. He heard spells being shot behind them, and knew the battle wasn't over.

Wenny, too, heard the spells being shot and hitting and breaking various objects, and people fighting and yelling at each other. She continued quickly walking with Carl, wishing this was some kind of bad dream and that she would wake up any moment. Was Hogwarts, the one place she always knew they were safe, really under attack?

"Where can we go?," she asked Carl quietly, looking around to make sure there was no one following them. She wasn't just asking him where in the castle they could go, but where would they go now that Hogwarts was no longer safe? Was there even anywhere they could go? The thought of them having no where left to escape the Death Eaters terrified her.

"I don't know, Wenny," Carl said hurriedly, practically yelling. He winced slightly as he realized he had just yelled at Wenny, and she hadn't done anything. He shook it off, deciding he'd have to make it up to her later. Right now, he had to get to Snape. He still didn't know what he was going to do, but he knew he had to get to him.

They found themselves in the Entrance Hall and the big oak front doors had been blasted open. Carl ran down the stairs from the Entrance Hall and down onto the grounds. He could see Snape, Malfoy, and the other Death Eaters running towards the front gates. From there they would be able to apparate, and he knew it.

Wenny gave Carl a somewhat nasty look for yelling at her, but she knew how furious he was at the battle going on around them. She decided to say something to him later about it, but at the moment, they had to focus on surviving. Or at least that was her main concern. She had a feeling Carl's was somewhat different.

As they ran out onto the grounds, Wenny saw the Death Eaters, Snape included, as well as Draco Malfoy, running towards the front gates. She looked over at Carl and could tell he was wanting to stop them. She did, too, in a way, but she was also frightened at what they might do if she and Carl tried. It would only take two seconds for one of them to kill them both on the spot.

Carl looked around for a moment, from the Death Eaters then back towards the Entrance Hall, and then saw someone coming. He grabbed Wenny along with him as he headed around the side of the stairs. He watched as Harry ran down the steps from the Entrance Hall and start running towards the Death Eaters when he fell, and then watched for a moment as Harry fought two Death Eaters.

Then Carl turned to Wenny. "You stay here. I'm not going to let anything happen to you," he told her. He had to get past the gates to stop at least Snape from disapparating out of here. He looked back and then saw Harry and Snape were shooting spells at each other.

Wenny felt herself being pulled to the side of the stairs and saw Harry run out of the castle. She watched as he started fighting the Death Eaters and continued on to Snape.

When she heard Carl, she grabbed onto his sleeve and shook her head, "Carl, no! You can't go out there. They'll...they'll kill you." She looked over towards where Harry and Snape were currently dueling and then back to Carl, "please let Harry handle it." She knew Carl would most likely refuse to do so, but she had to at least try to keep him from going out there and getting himself killed. "If you go out there, you know that I'm coming with you," she added, determined to keep him with her.

Carl had his wand out as he looked from Snape to Harry and then back to Wenny. "If you say they'll kill me, then they won't stop at just me. They'll kill you, too. And I'm not going to let that happen. You're staying here," he told her, looking into her eyes.

His heart was racing faster now as he heard screaming. It was Harry. "You see?" he said, turning back to Wenny. "I have to stop Snape," he said, stopping himself from saying he had to murder Snape, which was how he was feeling. He stood back up straight, as he had been bending down, and continued to look down at Wenny.

At the risk of being cheesy, Wenny had to appeal to Carl somehow, "but they may as well kill me if they kill you. I can't live without you. You have to know that." The thought of her seeing Carl murdered and being without him for the rest of her life bothered her more than the thought of being killed by a Death Eater. And that was saying something, as she didn't particularly want to die.

She turned to look at Harry and Snape who were still fighting, though it seemed Snape was winning. She also saw that Hagrid's cabin was on fire and frowned. "I'm going with you," she said, determined not to be left behind alone.

Carl took a deep breath, realizing he didn't quite have a choice now. Although the thought of hexing Wenny to keep her safe had crossed his mind. He slowly nodded his head a little. "Alright," he said quietly. He grabbed her hand again and kissed her deeply. "I'm sorry," he said softly against her lips. "For everything."

He then looked back towards Snape and Harry and saw Snape was running away again. "Come on," he said, less demandingly than last time as he started running again, but keeping to where, hopefully, no one could see them.

Wenny wouldn't have told him at the time, but she also wanted to go with Carl to keep him from becoming a murderer. She knew that was the driving force behind his insistance on going after Snape. He wanted to kill the man.

Knowing they didn't have time to debate whether or not he should be sorry 'for everything,' Wenny simply nodded and returned his kiss before they both began running towards the Death Eaters.

As they ran, Wenny silently prayed that no one saw them and caught them, or worse. She wasn't exactly sure what they were going to be able to do to stop the Death Eaters, but she knew Carl wanted them to try. She just hoped it didn't get them both killed. As they neared the Death Eaters, she pulled out her wand.

Carl continued to run quickly, but trying his best to stay out of anyone's line of vision. He saw the Death Eaters going out of the gate, and he sped up. Once he saw that they were fixing to apparate, he had to do something to stop them. He pointed his wand at Snape. "Stupefy!" he yelled. Although, as Snape was quicker and had blocked the spell.

Carl continued to run towards them, although he caught a weird look from Snape. It was a cross between a glare and something else Carl couldn't quite make out. But the next thing he realized, the Death Eaters were gone.

Carl cursed loudly as he reached the gate and where the Death Eaters had been. He kicked the blasted down gate hard and cursed again. He turned to Wenny. "Apparate us to the Death Eater's headquarters," he said, his breathing quick. "Now," he said, his anger coarsing through his blood.

Wenny watched Carl try to stupefy Snape and was thankful that Snape hadn't retaliated for it. She had lagged a little behind Carl as they ran, as she wasn't quite as fast as he was, but she caught up when he slowed down near the gate.

She heard his request and looked at him wide-eyed, "what?" Surely he was joking, why would he want to purposely go back to that horrible place? "Carl, if we go there, they'll kill us for sure!" They had already escaped the place several times, it was doubtful the Death Eaters would allow it to happen again.

Carl hated being so angry when he was with Wenny, but right now all he could think about was Snape. "Then apparate us close and I'll go in and kill that," he said, stopping short and taking a deep breath. "We can't just let him escape like that...," he said. "I'm not going to let anything happen to you," he said, more calmly.

"It's not up to us," Wenny said, hoping to somehow figure out a way of talking him out of wanting to go to the Death Eater Headquarters. "When the Ministry hears of what happened, they're going to start looking for him. He'll go to Azkaban for life," she said, trying to calm him down a bit. "And you are not going to kill anyone."

Carl looked down at the ground for a minute, having to stop himself from doing anything too drastic infront of Wenny, or what scared him worse, to Wenny. He looked back up, his jaw still clenched from way before. "Wenny, please," he pleaded. He didn't want to argue with her last comment. At the moment, he felt like he really could kill Snape, and he wouldn't be surprised if he ended up actually doing it.

Wenny watched Carl for a few moments, then looked around at the chaos still going on around them. She really didn't want to risk them going back to the Death Eater Headquarters, but she could tell how much Carl wanted to do something about what they had just seen and she didn't entirely blame him.

"You know this is against my better judgement," she said. "And if anything happens while we're there...," she started. She wasn't sure how to finish it, though. She didn't want to be cruel to him and say she would blame him, but going to the Death Eater Headquarters could very well get them both killed. If they stayed here at Hogwarts, they were at least somewhat safe.

Somewhere inside of him, Carl knew what he was risking. But it was as if he didn't care, although he had a feeling that he would regret it later. "Do it, Wenny," he said, gripping his wand firmly.